Richardson arrived at No.7 just after an ambulance took Rita to Weatherfield General. Taking over the questioning from two officers who responded to the initial 999 call, he interviewed Martin and Jenny at the house before going to the hospital to question Rita, however none of them could offer any suggestions regarding Alan's place of refuge. Although not unsympathetic, Richardson appeared skeptical that neither Alan's daughter nor his employee at Weatherfield Security Systems could offer any help at all, but stopped short of accusing them of protecting Alan.

After the initial round of questioning, Richardson concluded that Jenny was the person Alan was most likely to contact for help and began shadowing her. His tactics garnered criticism from Mavis Wilton when he called at The Kabin to speak to Jenny, with Mavis demanding that they do more to find Alan. The detective flatly replied that he just had a notebook and a pencil to work with, not a magic wand. However, his line of investigation bore fruit later that day as, having followed Jenny and Martin to Gatley train station and observed Martin waiting in the car for Jenny, Richardson realised she had to be meeting her dad, and Alan was immediately apprehended just after getting off a train, having arranged to collect his passport from Jenny there. When he saw the police, Alan made a run for it, but Richardson and a colleague, Eddie, grabbed and cuffed him, and bundled him into a police van.

By November that year, Richardson had received a promotion to Detective Sergeant.

In May 1991, Richardson called at 9 Coronation Street to question Jack and Vera Duckworth about a break-in at an address in Knutsford - a house that the couple were known to have been at. The wealthy occupant, Mrs Maxwell-Glover, had recently advertised for personal chauffeur and a housekeeper, and interviewed the Duckworths for the positions. When they discovered that they could recoup interview expenses, the Duckworths falsely claimed that they were currently in the employ of Sir Alec and Lady Gilroy-Holdsworth and had travelled from Southampton to attend the interview. The Duckworths were offered the jobs pending references but Vera had a crisis of conscience and that same day, told Mrs Maxwell-Glover they weren't taking the jobs. When Richardson arrived to question them, the couple thought they were in trouble for claiming the £30 expenses from Mrs Maxwell-Glover and immediately confessed, offering Richardson the money. However the misunderstanding was quickly resolved, much to the amusement of the detective.